e them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire,
in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and
fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty
thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty
measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.'

According to this arrangement it would appear that Solomon paid for the
timber that he imported by exporting to Hiram wheat and oil, but it is
shown in a later chapter that the transaction was not a purely
commercial one. At the end of twenty years, when Solomon had finished
the building of the temple, he gave Hiram as further consideration
twenty cities in the land of Galilee, 'and Hiram came out from Tyre to
see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?
And he called them the land of Cabul [explained in the margin as meaning
"displeasing" or "dirty"] unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king
sixscore talents of gold.'[25]

Apart from this transaction between the two kings, Solomon appears to
have developed a very considerable foreign trade, presumably exporting
wheat and oil and other agricultural products. His imports appear to
have been various. Chapter ten of the first book of Kings states that
'the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in
three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver,
ivory, and apes, and peacocks.' ... 'And the king made silver to be in
Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that
are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of
Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a
price.'

The whole question of Solomon's balance of trade is a very interesting
one, and deserves the attention of some Hebrew scholar who may be able
to throw light upon it. In these days it is rather difficult to see how
a purely agricultural country could have found the means of paying for
all these articles of pure luxury which Solomon imported so freely. It
must be noted, however, that 'all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear
his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man
his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and
armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year'. From this
it appears that Solomon was able to exchange his wisdom for